9 photography accessories you never knew you needed

We probably don't need to tell you to buy a tripod, but here are a few clever gadgets and accessories you might not have thought about...

1. Bluetrack GPS tracker

Give your gear that bit of extra bit of insurance by outfitting your kit bag with a GPS tracker. Simply stick one of Bluetrack’s range of products somewhere innocuous in your bag and you’ll be able to keep tabs on it no matter where it might end up. From £85, www.bluetrack.co.uk.

2. Enlight Photo Frio Cold Shoe

This clever little blue adapter converts a standard tripod screw thread into a universal cold shoe, allowing you to convert any ordinary camera mount into a stand for anything you like – flashguns, LED panels, even an external microphone. From £9.99, www.enlightphotopro.com.

3. BRNO baLens White Balance lens cap

If you like to control your white balance settings rather than rely on AWB, this cap from BRNO will help you get a more accurate reading. The translucent grey dome on the external side of the cap allows light to filter through and give the camera a chance to make a more accurate assessment of its colour temperature. Available in 52mm, 55mm, 62mm, 67mm, 72mm, 77mm. From £8.74, www.balens.ca.

4. Delkin Snug-It Pro Silicone Skin

These snug rubber skins are custom made for specific cameras (currently only Canon and Nikon) and have ridged molded rubber to protect more fragile parts of cameras such as LCD screens. The latest is available for the Canon 70D. £29.99, www.delkin.com.

5. Visible Dust Quasar Sensor Loupe 7x

A clever tool for sensor cleaning, the Quasar Loupe combines pin-sharp, low-dispersion magnifying glass with seven powerful LEDs to create 3D images of even the smallest dust particles. If you’ve got the chops to conduct your own sensor maintenance then this is indispensable. £56.89, www.visibledust.com.

6. Velbon Super Mag Slider

This 4-way slider allows for extremely precise camera placement. You get 60mm of forward and backward movement and 30mm left to right. For painstakingly lining up your perfect macro shots, there’s nothing better. £69, www.velbon.co.uk.

7. Godox Propac PB820

It’s all too easy to remember to charge your camera but forget to charge your external flash, which is why the Godox Propac is worth making space for in your kit bag. Charge up a range of Canon, Nikon and Sony flashes with the Propac and go right on shooting, with a two-hour charge providing enough juice for up to 320 full power flashes. £61.86, www.godox.com.

8. Datacolor SpyderLENSCAL

If you’re suspicious that your autofocus may not quite be performing correctly, why not check with this lens calibration tool? The Lenscal works with your camera’s menu AF correction settings to ensure that you’re getting pin-sharp, accurate autofocus. There’s even an instructional video on using it:

9. Level Camera Cube

Attaching via the hotshoe, this clever little product from Photojojo lets you keep your camera level on three axes. A great, cost-effective way to keep things on the straight and narrow. £9.26, www.photojojo.com.

Camera selector tool

Competition

Create stunning slideshows from your images with this great software program. MAGIX Photostory 2015 Deluxe offers over 300 effects, animations and decorative elements. You can combine images to make panoramas…